Rail News

First Desiro City Fleet for South West Trains Arrives in London

The first of a £210million fleet of new trains for South West Trains passengers has now arrived at Clapham ahead of final testing. The Siemens built Class 707 Desiro City trains will provide space for approximately 11,000 passengers every weekday morning on one of Europe’s busiest railways; to and from London Waterloo.

A pair of five-carriage trains will start testing in the new year and the first trains are expected to enter passenger service in April. When the full roll out is complete by November 2017, 30 trains, comprising 150 carriages will provide space for thousands of additional passengers every day.

The trains will run between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside, including the Hounslow Loop and Weybridge via Brentford, calling at many of the network’s busiest stations such as Clapham Junction, Vauxhall, Brentford and Twickenham. They also provide a range of benefits for passengers, including:

Free passenger WiFi throughout

Space for approximately 800 passengers

Spacious open-ended carriages, allowing passengers to see through and walk the length of the train

A modern climate control system which monitors the number of passengers onboard to maintain the temperature while minimising energy consumption

State-of-the-art onboard passenger information which can provide real-time updates on a range of information, including London Underground services and tell passengers which carriages have more space

They are also far lighter and more energy efficient, reducing the impact on the environment and track

A significant amount of testing has already been carried out by Siemens to help the new trains be introduced into passenger service as quickly as possible. However, there is further testing and safety validations required which must be carried out on the South West Trains network.

The introduction of the trains will allow a ‘cascade’ of remaining South West Trains vehicles to be moved to other parts of the South West Trains network, increasing capacity across the route.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said:

“I am pleased to see the first of this new fleet of trains arriving in the UK on schedule. They are part of the record investment the government has been making to modernise our railways. Once operational these trains will make journeys more efficient and comfortable for passengers.”